Earthbound, No More!
by Alevan
Summary: Join Robin, daughter of Ness, and friends she'll meet on a journey to find her dad, find out who Pokey is and what he wants, and what her father has done so long ago...


Earthbound, No More  
  
Author Notes:  
  
I've decided to write what I'd see as a neat "sequel" from the game and the theories on Starmen.net that made sense. The characters I've made up are my copyright, so no stealing them. Also, anyone used from Earthbound is copyrighted to the company that had made them and are not mine. Anyway, here is the first chapter and enjoy.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
It was around thirty five years after Ness' journey with his friends to stop Giygas from taking over the world. It had its sacrifices though. Pokey was consumed by Giygas' darkness and aided him until the very end. Despite the threat he left at his door, Ness had never heard from him again. In the years, he found his peace and realized how much he truly loved Paula.  
In those years, they had dated and soon married in Twoson. Soon, they had moved back to Onett and lived in the same house in the forest near the mountains. His little sister had moved out by then to the great city of Fourside and sadly, his mother had passed away before he'd experience the true joy of his life.  
Ness and Paula became proud parents of a baby girl whom they named Robin. She had her father's dark hair, and her mother's beautiful eyes. Yet, strangely so, she had gained the same special powers as Ness did when he was a baby. Robin could bend spoons with her little mind, and many things in her youth.  
Luckily for her, those powers were never called upon as she grew into a beautiful yet tomboyish girl. Like her father, she had a hobby of sports, video games and a strange fond of pizza. Though, in her father's eyes, the two were more different then they could ever be the same in simple hobbies and the taste of food; He had a destiny that he fulfilled, and Robin could live the life of a normal girl.  
  
Well, that's what he thought.  
  
It was a nice, cool day in the town of Onett. Fall was starting to settle its little claws on the town to prepare it for another winter. The trees were starting to turn colors and birds were beginning to fly south for the long winter. Though not cold enough for the people of Onett to wear jackets, it was enough to wear sweaters and jeans.  
Robin was outside the burger shop, waving to the last of her friends from school that walked by. Her head had a blue cap, folded on the rim and the top had ears that looked like the ears of a mouse. Her black hair just barely reaching her shoulders. She had on a long sleeved pink shirt and light blue jeans on her legs. She had on her feet a pair of worn out sneakers that looked to be in need of desperate repair.  
She fixed her backpack that was on her back before starting to walk down the street and turn onto the dirt path. She looked quite happy today and she had a good reason to be happy. Today was Robin's 12th birthday and she was going to see her dad!  
I never get a chance to hang out with him, thought Robin; He's always working at his job in Fourside. She walked up toward her house when it came in the clearing. The other house was owned by her father's best friend, Picky. He has his own family with three kids of his own. He had two sons and a nine month old daughter; Dennis, John, and little Tristy.  
Robin had opened the door and entered inside her home. Her smile broadened when she saw her mother and father in the kitchen at the end. Paula, her mother, was just finishing icing a cake she was baking for Robin's birthday. Ness, her father, had just finished his coffee when he turned his head to the door and smiled.  
"Hey dad, welcome home!" Robin exclaimed happily, walking forward to the kitchen table. "Well, well, if it isn't the birthday girl." Her dad had replied, putting down his coffee mug and stood to greet her. It didn't take Robin long to quickly run to him to embrace him in a hug.  
However, he raised his hand to stop her with a knowing grin. Robin looked confused but then it dawned on her on what was missing. She had turned as they did a low five, turning to face him for a high five and giving each other the peace sign. With that, she dived to him in a hug with a laugh.  
Ness couldn't help but laugh as he returned the hug to his daughter. "I guess you missed me that much, huh?" He spoke as he let go of her. She glanced up to him and smiled brightly up to her dad. "Of course I did," She replied, "We never got to finish our baseball game yet!"  
"Alright, you two," Her mother spoke up with a smile, "Its time for cake and presents. We'll start with the presents. The cake still needs to cool off for a few." Ness, on that note, turned and walked to the kitchen table. He picked up two perfectly wrapped presents and walked back to the kitchen table. He placed them down right in front of her with a smile and saying, "Happy Birthday Robin."  
With a smile, she opened the longest box first, tearing at that paper as if it were a monster blocking her from her goal. Inside, her eyes twinkled at the gift she wanted for a long time. "Oh cool, dad! A baseball bat!" She exclaimed happily, "Now I don't have to borrow Dennis's bat anymore!" She picked up the bat and held it tightly in her hands and did a few practice swings.  
"Um, Robin, maybe you should open your other present too."  
  
"Oh, right, sorry Mom." Robin apologized with a little laugh. She had almost forgotten about the rule to not swing anything in the house. Just as she was about to open the other present, there was an annoying knock at the door.  
Ness glanced to the door and back to his family. The knock almost brought back memories... He shook them out of his head. He went toward the door as Robin began to open her second present. He opened the door, but strangely, no one was there. When he examined the door, a strange letter was attached and read the letter silently.  
  
Ness' face paled as he finished reading the letter, coming to a horrifying conclusion.  
  
Meanwhile, Robin was happy to the gift she sorely needed; A new pair of white sneakers. Already she had them on her feet and she was testing them out by walking around the kitchen. She had given her mother a tight hug. "Thanks Mom. You two are the best!" She said up to her mother.  
However, she noticed her mom with a look of concern as she stared toward the living room. Confused, Robin had let go of her mother and glanced to the living room as well. Ness had stood there, grasping the letter tightly in his hand and his face was as white as a ghost.  
"Honey? What's wrong?" Paula asked.  
Ness wasn't even paying attention as he threw the letter aside and walked up to them. "Paula, I need to go to where everything started. Something's wrong." He spoke with great concern toward to her. Paula looked confused as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and then turned to Robin. "Robin." He paused, almost quivering. Robin looked just as confused as she watched her father.  
"Robin," He said once again, "If I don't return, do not go to the rock on top of the mountain. Don't come after me."  
"But, dad-"  
"Promise me, Robin!"  
Robin was confused even more. Her father was never this scared, if he even got scared. She sighed, and soon nodded in reply to her father. Satisfied, Ness turned and left the house in a quick haste. She looked to her mother, and was about to ask what was going on when Paula stopped her.  
"Let's just have some cake. Your dad must have had an emergency call from his job."  
". With a letter?"  
"Well, maybe they're. phone isn't working!" She stammered and turned to the table, "Let's just have some of the cake. It's your favorite. Banana cake!"  
  
That night, Ness still had not returned home. Robin wanted to stay up late and wait for him but her mother sent her up to bed. In her striped nightgown, she had lied in her bed. She just couldn't sleep; she couldn't forget her father's fearful expression. Something just wasn't right and her parents weren't telling her something.  
"This is so dumb, Why would dad go back to work on his vacation?" She asked to herself, sitting up, "He said he was going to the mountain, not back to work. What if something really bad. happened to him?" she asked herself. Soon, the decision came to her.  
She was going to the mountain and she wanted answers. "Besides," Robin said to herself with a sly grin, "I never promised I wouldn't go up there, I just nodded." She got to her feet and quickly dressed in her old clothes she wore earlier today. Silently, she tip toed out of her room and down the hall.  
She moved in silence down the stairs and half way through the kitchen. before jumping a mile when the light was turned on. She looked over her shoulder and saw her mother, holding her baseball bat. "Robin, just where are you going?" She asked with narrowed eyes.  
"Aw, come on, Mom! I want to find out if dad is all right! You can't keep me inside forever!" She argued with her, annoyed. Paula was silent, but closed her eyes with a sad smile.  
"It was going to come to this eventually, wasn't it?"  
Robin looked confused by what her mother was saying. "You're just like your father; Brave and confident. No matter what I say, you'll just go up that mountain anyway," She paused, before continuing, "It's going to be dangerous and I know it. Take this bat with you, Robin. I know you're going to need it."  
Paula walked forward to her daughter and hesitantly handed her the baseball bat. Robin grasped it in her hands, before glancing to her mom. "Mom, I'll be fine. When I get back, I'm bringing dad home!" Se exclaimed with a grin before she turned and dashed to the door, heading outside while slamming the door.  
Paula stood there, her eyes filled with tears as if knowing the sickening truth. In her other hand, she held the crumbled up letter that Ness had thrown on the ground earlier.  
  
Robin had walked on the dirt path in a quick haste toward the mountains. However, as she traveled, she felt something wasn't right. Something did not seem usual as she walked on the path heading to the mountains. She stopped, when she heard footsteps heading her way. She had gripped her bat tightly as she slowed to a stop, eyes narrowing.  
From around the corner, came that of a boy with blonde hair that came over his eyes. He was thin, and looked to be in a panic. He recognized her immediately and had ran up to her, before stopping to try to get some air past his lungs.  
"Dennis, what're you doing up so late? Where is your brother, John?" She asked with great interest in this. When he had gathered enough air, he looked up to her and straightened his posture. "Robin, it was horrible," he explained, "Everything has been going crazy! The wild dogs have been attacking, and. and.."  
"Take another deep breath and tell me what happened, exactly. Tell me about what has been happening later."  
"Well," He started, "I was playing hide and seek up here with my brother, John. We're always up here at night, y'know? Anyway, as we were getting ready to go home, the Vulkar gang approached us. You know, the Vulkars. They're the ones who are in the tree house, making sure there aren't many attacks by the birds and dogs.  
"They're usually friendly so we were going to say Hi to them. Then, that's when it happened! They got out they're golf clubs and began attacking us! They were saying, we trespassed on they're turf and needed a beating. We were scared, and confused. They're never this way! John and I had run away and we split up.  
"I ran this way and he went up in the mountains. The Vulkars left when they couldn't find us, so I waited for him to come down. But, he hasn't come back yet. it's been three hours already! Something must've happened!" Robin listened to his story and found it odd. First, dad goes missing and now John? Something isn't right, thought Robin.  
"Well, I'm heading that way. Maybe we can try to find your brother." She offered with a little grin. Dennis smiled and nodded rapidly as he turned to go up the mountain path. The two began to walk together. Though, Robin could not help but ask him a few questions.  
"Dennis, you've mentioned something about strange things going on. What has been going on?"  
"Well, It started earlier in the day. I'm not sure when it started exactly but a group of little kids were playing nearby where you lived when they were attacked by strange crows. Then, on the other side of town, there were police officers walking down the street, having coffee, when they were attacked by mad dogs. Then, recently, the Vulkars went crazy! No one understands what is going on."  
She listened with a confused look. If this had to do with her dad, why did he get upset over a few gang members going crazy? It didn't make any sense to her at all. Her thoughts were put on hold when they finally reached to the top of the mountain.  
There was John, hugging his knees tightly as if he had seen a ghost. However, it didn't seem right. The stone was light on fire, in a glow as if it were a meteor that had just landed. Robin was suspicious but Dennis called out to his brother, "John, you're okay! What happened to you?"  
John had raised his head up slightly and saw his older brother and one of the neighbors he knew almost too well. John looked spooked, as if he had seen a ghost. Robin remembered her other purpose of being here and raised her voice to speak.  
"John, I'm looking for my dad. Did you see him at all?"  
"Y-Yeah, I saw him. and someone else too."  
"You saw someone else here? Who?"  
"I. I don't know," stammered John, "It was strange. He was with this fat man in a robotic suit. It resembled much like a spider! He had a mustache and looked somewhat like my dad. But, his skin was so pale, it almost looked blue. He was going on how he'll get his revenge at last by his death, but for what. I don't know! When your dad said nothing, he mentioned. mentioned something about Robin!"  
"Me?"  
"Yeah, he mentioned you! He said if he couldn't get revenge out on your dad, he'd do it on you. Then. it happened!" Robin had raised a brow with confusion on her face. "What did dad do?" asked Robin.  
"Well," John began to explain, "He did something, not sure. He made a powerful blast, shouting. 'PSI Rockin!' or something. Whatever it was, it hurt that fat dude. Then Ness turned and ran, and that fat man followed after him in his suit! They passed right by me, and didn't notice me."  
Robin looked very confused by John's story. It sounds a lot like what I can do, thought Robin. Everything made no sense at all, and Dad had never told her of any fat man that he knew. She came to one conclusion; Mom was hiding something, and Robin wanted answers now.  
After some pondering, she glanced to Dennis with a grin. "We found John, so how about we go home? Its getting late and the sun will rise soon." Dennis gave a nod of agreement and helped his brother up. Together, they made they're way back to they're homes in Onett.  
  
The sun slowly began to rise to a bright morning on Onett. Paula had finished making breakfast of eggs and bacon for her daughter. Though she did wonder what she had found, another part of Paula already knew what had happened and feared for the worse. Pokey had returned, and he planned to take his revenge on Ness.  
Robin had soon came down in a pair of faded jeans with a long sleeve dark pink shirt with the same blue bear eared hat. There was a silence as she walked to the table and sat down. She looked to the empty chair where dad would've usually sat and felt like something was missing.  
Soon, she took a breath and finally said, "Mom, do you know about a fat man in a spider suit?" There was a pause. Her mother had froze, holding the frying pan in midair as she froze with wide eyes. She slowly turned to Robin and stared to her long and hard.  
"Honey. How did you find out about him?"  
"John saw him. I was helping Dennis looking for him."  
Paula had slowly placed the pan back on the stove and walked to her chair, sitting down as if she were in slow motion. Her eyes stared to her daughter, with a look as if she were about to reveal a big secret. "Do you want the truth, Robin?" asked Paula.  
"Of course I want the truth, mom! I'm confused by everything. I want to know what you've been hiding from me!" A sigh escaped Paula's lips and her eyes looked down. "That man you've heard about. used to be Ness' annoying neighbor and Picky's older brother," began Paula, "His name is Pokey. He wants revenge on your father."  
".why?"  
"Well, your father stopped his evil plans with Giygas. You see. your father, and I were heroes. I'm sure you've heard of four kids destroying Giygas long ago, but we were a part of that group. Pokey became Giygas' right hand man. While we succeeded in defeating him, we did not defeat Pokey."  
".So, he's back after so long to seek revenge on my dad?"  
"Yes, that's it, basically."  
A long pause before she spoke again, "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't dad say anything.?"  
"Dad thought that with all the evil gone, it wasn't necessary. He wanted you to live a normal life. You were his ultimate treasure. Even if you inherited our special. abilities, he didn't think Pokey would actually come back. After all, he always was a coward."  
Another pause as she thought some more. So, Pokey is after my father and my father is trying to escape Pokey for some reason when he can tear him to shreds, Robin thought. It would be a minute before she raised her head, glancing to her mother right in the eyes.  
"Mom, I'm going after my dad."  
". What?"  
"I'm going after him." She said with a smile, "I've got the special powers as my dad, and maybe I can stop Pokey before he gets him. If I get to him first, maybe I can find more answers to my questions!" Paula was hesitant, but soon grinned with a shrug. "I should've figured you'd say that. Even if I say no, you'll just go right after him anyway."  
Robin smiled. "Thanks, Mom."  
"Any time, dear. Before you go, at least bring your backpack and that bat! I have a feeling you may need it." In quick haste, Robin had got up from the table, ran back up the stairs and to her room. She grabbed her bat and had put on her backpack. She rushed back down and began toward the door.  
"Robin, wait!" her mother called out, and Robin stopped. She turned, and saw her mother behind her holding out a worn out red baseball cap. "Here, take this. as a good luck charm. Your dad used to wear it all the time."  
Robin slowly took the baseball cap and put it in her backpack. She turned to the door, saying, "Mom, I plan to bring dad back home! I don't care how fat and "tough" this Pokey is!" She had soon left the home in a fast pace to the wonderful town of Onett.  
  
But, what will Robin encounter in Onett? Will she run into the Vulkars down there? Will she find some answers in town?  
  
To be Continued in Chapter 2. 


End file.
